Plate-shaving machine



Sept. 16 19.24. 1,508,513

W. A. FIELD PLATE SHAVING MACHINE 7 Filed May 14. 1923 2 SheetS-Sheet 1Sept. 16 p 1924. 1,508,513

W. A. FEELD' PLATE SII-IAVING momma filed May 14. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 233 of the bed of the machine,

are recessed, as best shown in Patented Sept. 16, 1924,

earenr 'FFIQE.

WILLIAM A. FIELD, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PLATE-SHAVING MACHINE.

' Application filed May 14,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. FIELD, a citizen of the United States,and aresident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plate- ShavingMachines, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements thatare primarily designed foruse in connection with machines employed in the shaving or planing ofthe surfaces of metal plates such as electrotype and stereotype plates,and it has for its object to provide such machines with improved meanslocated close to and in advance of the usual knife blade for bearingdown upon the plate that the knife is operating upon so as to hold suchplate firmly in position against the flat bed that it rests upon, andthereby ensure the formation by the knife blade of a perfectly smoothand uniform surface. I accomplish this object by the means shown in thedrawings and hereinafter particularly described. That which I believe tobe new will be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, v

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the spring pressure fingers thatbear against the plate being operated on;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross-section on line some parts being brokenaway, and showing in front elevation my' improved platepressing means;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the knifecarrying means and the means thatcarry the plate-pressing devices; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken at the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the several figures of the drawings, indicates the flat bedof a machine upon which the plate tobe shaved or planed is placed andheld as usual. Over each side marginal portion of the bed is arranged along rack bar 11, the forward end of each rack bar having bolted theretoa head 12, the inner surfaces of which heads Fig. 3, to partiallyembrace the marginal portions of the bed, and in the lower portlon ofthe recesses of these heads are preferably located wearing ribs 13 (seeFig. 3) as usual. The

1923. Serial No. 638,855.

two heads 12 are connected together by the- '1 usual blade-carrylng bar14which, as is customary, is arranged diagonally so that the cuttingblade that it carries, and which is here indicated by 15, willv sentedto the work so as to shearing action. The cuttingblade 15 is bolted tothe downwardly inclined front face of the cross-bar 14 by bolts 16 that,as usual, 1 pass is further held down to its work by a number of setscrews 17 that pass through an overhanging lip on the cross-bar andimpinge against the upper edge of theblade, such screws being heldlocked in place by nuts 18. i

The rack bars 11 and connecting crossbar 14 form a sliding carriagewhich is .moved longitudinally of the bed of the machine by any suitablemeans.

is moved by meansof a motor cated which larger which shaft is secured atone enda gear 23 that meshes with and drives another gear 24 fast upon ashaft 25 that extends across and above the bed of the machine andcarries two pinions 26 that'respectively en- As shown, it that isindigenerally by 19 and upon the shaft of is a gear 20 that meshesaWitll -a gage with the two rack bars 11. This slid-1,

ing carriage construction and the means for operating the same that havebeen thus briefly referred to are of well-known construction.

Turning now to the means for exerting constant pressure against a plate.that is being shaved or planed, and with which pressing means myinvention is more particularly concerned, 27 indicates two heavy armspivotally connected respectively to opposite end portions of thetransverse bladecarrying bar 14. As best shown in Fig. .1, the rear endportion of each of these arms is bifuroated so as to embrace an ear28'that rises from said bar 14 and is pivotally connected therewith by apin 29. The forward portion of'each arm is very considerably enlarged,as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and, as theresliown, is so shaped as to restat its inner edge against the forward inclined edge portion of the bar14 and at its lower edge rests upon the upper face of the adjacent head12. Through the enlarged forwardportion of each of these comparativelythick-and heavy arms 27 is formed an opening 30'of-oon be properly pre-vgive the desired through slots such asi'ndicated' by the dotted linesvin Fig. 5, and the blade gear 21 mounted upon a shaft 22, to, 1

siderable size and, as here shown, rectangular in shape. lnto theseelongated rectangular openings project the end portions 32 of a bar 31that lies a short distance in advance of the blade-carrying bar 14. Asbest shown in Fig. 1, these end portions 32 are ofiset rearwardlysomewhat from the main portion of the bar 31 so as to carry the mainbody of the bar the proper distance away from the cutting blade 15. Thelower portion of the outer face of the bar 31 is, as best shown in Fig.5, rather sharply beveled or inclined so as to form a rather broaddiagonal face for a series of pressure fingers to rest against and besecured to. These pressure fingers are indicated by 33 and, as bestshown in Fig. 2, each is formed of a flat piece of sheet metal. Thesepressure fingers 33 extend diagonally from front to rear and the lowermarginal portion of each is slight ly curved so as to move smoothly overthe plate that the blade 15 is acting upon, and by reason of theinherent resiliency of the metal of which such fingers a-e formed, aconstant steady pressure will be exerted by them on the plate (suchplate being shown in dotted lines in Figs. 3 and 5 and being indicatedby A) which will hold the plate very firmly against the bed of themachine and also tend to prevent any tendency to buckle. It will benoted that, by reason of the rearward inclination given to these fingers33, they are able to be located very closely to the cutting edge of theblade 15, and thus apply the desired downward pressure to the plate atthe most effective place. The several fingers 33 are, in theconstruction shown, secured in place by a strip 34 that is secured byscrews or otherwise to the bar 31 and clamps the fingers firmly againstthe inclined lower surface of such bar, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

As here shown, the end portions 32 of the bar 31 that extend into andhave a sliding lit in the openings 30 in the arms 27, rest upon coiledsprings 35 (see Fig. 4) and through the upper wall of each or the arms27 is screwed a bolt 36 that contacts with the underlying end portion32, and thus by adjusting these bolts the bar 31 may be forced downagainst the pressure exerted by the springs 35 and thus regulate to theextent desired the pressure of the several fingers 33 against the platebeing operated upon. WVhen the proper ustinent has been had the boltswill be locked against accid'ently turning by means'of nuts 37 carriedrespectively by said bolts.

Each of the arms has at its lower edge a forwardly-extending lug 38, andwhen the parts are in operative position the arms 27 will be lockedfirmly in place to their respective heads by suitable clamping blocks 39bolted to the heads 12 and extending over the lugs 38. When it isnecessary to have access to the cutting blade 15 for the purpose ctsharpening or adjusting it, the clamping blocks can be readily removed,as will be understood, and the arms 27 turned bacl; on their pivots 29,carrying with them, of course, the cross-bar 31. At- 40 the cross bar isshown as provided centrally on its front face with a lip that forms aconvenient means for the operator to take hold of when turning such barinto and out of operative position.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a plate-shaving machine the combination with a plate-holding bed,a bladecarrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a blade securedthereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade to operativelyengage a plate on said bed, at a second bar normally held in advance ofsaid blade carrying bar, means for yieldingly supporting saidsecond-named bar in operative position, and plate-pressing means carriedby and trailing behind said second'named bar and engaging with suchplate in close proximity to the edge of said blade.

2. In a plate-shaving machine, the combination with a plate-holding bed,a bladecarrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a blade securedthereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade to operativelyengage a plate on said bed, of two arms connected with end portions ofsaid blade-carrying bar and projecting orwardly therefrom, means forlocking said arms in operative position, a second bar carried by saidarms, and means carried by said second bar for exerting a pressureagainst such plate, said pressure means being inclined rearwardly towardthe edge of the said blade.

3. In a plate-shaving machine, the combination with a plate-holding bed,a blade carrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a blade securedthereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade to operativelyengage a plate on said bed, 01 two arms connected with end portions ofsaid blade-carrying bar and projecting forwardly therefrom, means forlocking said arms in operative position, a second bar carried by saidarms, and a plurality of fingers carried by said second bar for exertinga pressure against such plate, said fingers being inclined rearwardlytoward the edge of the I said blade.

4c. In a plate-shaving machine, the combination with a plate-holdingbed, a blew carrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a bladesecured thereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade toopera tively engage a plate on said bed, of a pair of arms pivotallyconnected with cnu portions of said blade-carrying bar to adapt them tobe turned into inoperative or opera tive position, means for lockingthem in their operative position, a second bar carried by said arms, andmeans carried by said second bar for exerting a pressure against suchplate, said pressure means being inclined rearwardly toward the edge ofthe said blade.

5. In a plate-shaving machine, the combination with a plate-holding bed,a bladecarry ing bar arranged transversely over the bed, a blade securedthereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade to opera,tively engage a plate on said bed, of a pair of pivoted arms connectedwith end portions of said blade-carrying bar and projecting forwardlytherefrom, means for locking said arms in operative position, asecond'bar carried by said arms and having a downwardly and rearwardlyinclined lower surface, and means secured against such inclined surfaceadapted to press against such plate in close proximity to the edge ofthe said blade.

6. In a plate-shaving machine, the combination with a plate-holding bed,a bladecarrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a blade securedthereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade to operativelyengage a plate on said bed, of two arms movably connected with endportions of said blade-carrying bar and projecting forwardly therefrom,said arms having elonjecting into gated openings in their forwardportions, means for locking said arms in operative position, a secondbar having its ends prosaid openings, resilient means carried by saidarms for supporting the end portions of said second bar, and meanscarried by! said second bar for exerting a pressure against such platein advance of and in close proximity to the edge of the said blade.

7. In a plate-shaving machine, the com bination with a plate-holdingbed, a bladecarrying bar arranged transversely over the bed, a bladesecured thereto, and means for moving said bar to cause the blade tooperatively engage a plate on said bed, of two arms movably connectedwith end portions of said blade-carrying forwardly therefrom, said armshaving elongated openings in their forward portions, means for lockingsaid armsv inoperative position, a second bar having its ends projectinginto said openings, resilient means carried by said arms for supportingthe end portions of said second bar, said second bar having a downwardlyand rearwardly inclined surface, and means secured against such inclinedsurface adapted to bear against such plate in close proximity to theedge of said blade.

lVILLIAM A. FIELD.

bar and projecting

